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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29103510">A Light in the Dark</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TreasureHunterGirl/pseuds/TreasureHunterGirl'>TreasureHunterGirl</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Occupation - Fandom</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, First In The Fandom, Occupation: Rainfall</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 13:53:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>749</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29103510</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TreasureHunterGirl/pseuds/TreasureHunterGirl</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Dennis learns some unexpected news from Peter. Set immediately after the end of Occupation: Rainfall.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dennis/Bella</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Light in the Dark</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/coldfusion9797/gifts">coldfusion9797</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After his time spent in the chaotic mess that was once Sydney, Dennis found Peter’s pristine little village to be something of a paradise. It was cold and quiet. There was grass and trees, not rubble and fire. Better yet there were other humans. While they didn’t go untouched by the devastation the planet was experiencing they had avoided some of it’s horrors. They were surviving not fighting, and in a way he envied that. He knew he couldn’t rest easy doing so, but he saw the merit in it. Everyone had their part to play. Perhaps these were the people who would have the strength and still be whole enough to rebuild when the fighting was done; if the fighting was ever done.</p><p>Peter welcomed Dennis into his home. He reflected with an inward laugh how Peter had once warned him off his daughter. It was strange to see a house set up like old times, free of military paraphernalia. He could barely remember what that was like. Even before the Greys arrived he’d never really had that.</p><p></p><div>
  <p>It was cosy and homely. Jenny was there fussing over a small blonde child. With a pang of regret, Dennis thought of the girl’s parents. Vanessa and Jacko had been there right at the beginning. Dennis had lived and fought along side them. Saved others with them. But no one had been able to save either of them, and so here was their orphan daughter.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>It was the first time Dennis had set foot in this house, yet there was a feeling of something missing. His eyes roamed around the place searching for what it could be when his sight landed on a tattered piece of paper stuck to the wall. It was a sketch. He recognised his own handiwork with a jolt. Bella. The drawing was of Bella. That’s who had left the empty space in this home. She was gone. She was up there. She might not even still be alive. They didn’t know. Dennis fought back an unexpected feeling to cry.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Jenny had just finished dressing the child for bed. It was getting dark. She picked her up and propped her on her hip.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Say good night, Denny,” said Jenny.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Denny?” asked Dennis. He knew that wasn’t the girl’s name.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Yes,” replied Jenny with a glance at Peter.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I thought...” began Dennis, but he realised guiltily that he’d forgotten what she’d been called. It had been two years since he’d seen her. A lot had happened since then.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“He’s named after you,” said Peter, getting up from his seat at the table and joining his wife.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Me?” said Dennis, confused. “Did you say 'he'?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p></p>
  <div>
    <p></p>
    <div>
      <p>“This isn’t Venessa’s girl,” explained Peter. “He’s your son.”</p>
    </div>
  </div>
</div><div>
  <p>Dennis stared, trying to comprehend what he had just been told. “What are you talking about?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“This is Bella’s child,” said Peter. “She named him after his father.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Dennis stumbled back a step as the words soaked in.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I, I...” he stammered.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“It’s okay,” said Jenny. “We know you didn’t know about him.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“With Bella gone now, you’ll need to step up,” said Peter. “This boy needs his father now.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Dennis sat down so he wouldn’t fall down. There was a long silence.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“And I thought nothing could surprise me after an alien invasion,” he said finally.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Jenny laughed, and when Dennis looked up at her he saw her eyes glistening. Denny mumbled something incoherently and looked down at the father he’d never meet. It was terribly obvious now that his blue eyes were almost an exact copy of his mother’s. Bella. It had been circumstance that had kept them apart and it was circumstance bringing them together now. Dennis stood up and was surprised to find his legs a little shaky. Nothing he’d faced in the war had shook him quite like this.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Jenny offered the little boy to him with a reassuring smile. Dennis took him awkwardly into his arms and smiled.</p>
  <p></p>
  <div>
    <p></p>
    <div>
      <p>“Hello, Denny,” he said. “I’m your Daddy.”</p>
    </div>
  </div>
</div><div>
  <p>Denny giggled and tried to grab the loose hair that had fallen in front of his father’s eyes.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Peter and Jenny watched on with both sadness and happiness. They’d lost their daughter, and their grandson had gained a father.</p>
</div><div>
  <p></p>
  <div>
    <p>“You’ve got to take care of this little one,” said Peter giving Dennis a pat on the back. “This is where your responsibility lies now.”</p>
  </div>
</div><div>
  <p>Dennis nodded. He understood. Life had changed again, but this time it might just have been for the better.</p>
</div>
  </div></div>
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